Candidate Dead for Three Years May Appear on 2015 Ballot

Perennial Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Gatewood Galbraith passed away in 2012 – but that won’t stop his name from appearing on the 2015 ticket.

This isn’t a government oversight, though that would make more sense, and he didn’t file from the Great Beyond, so how did this happen?

Terrill Wayne Newman, 68, of Pulaski County legally changed his name on Tuesday to Gatewood Galbraith before filing paperwork Wednesday to run as an independent for the state’s highest office.

The Secretary of State’s office says independent candidates must obtain 5,000 signatures from registered voters by Aug. 11 to get their names on the general election ballot.

Newman told the Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/1xDIDcm ) he doesn’t expect to be elected but, “I sure do hope this warms Gatewood’s grave.”

Galbraith ran for governor five times and gained a following for his wit and his stances on legalizing hemp and marijuana.

Newman said he’ll run on a similar platform, but will focus on his namesake.

“I mostly will be talking about the great Gatewood Galbraith,” he said.

Newman says he and Galbraith were “not friends per se,” but they shared mutual friends and knew each other on a first-name basis.

Dea Riley, who was Gatewood Galbraith’s running mate in 2011, said she thinks Galbraith would find Newman’s name change amusing.

“I can hear him now: ‘I’ll tell the IRS to send him the tax bill,'” Riley said.

But she also said Newman “has very big shoes to fill” with his new name and she hopes he will honor it.

“To have Gatewood’s name and message prostituted, for the sake to garner political office, is a personal affront to me in that I was not only his running mate but equally his friend and confidant,” Riley said.

America is the land of choice, and I fully support this man’s choice to change his name and support his friend – even if I think he is an idiot for doing so, it is his absolute right. This one though, has me shaking my head.

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In 2008 my life changed when Barack Obama came into my front yard on a campaign stop. I asked him why he wanted to raise taxes, and he said that he wanted to “spread the wealth.” Since then, I have gained a national following as “Joe the Plumber” and now travel the country speaking and encouraging other everyday folks to get involved in the political process.